What was the Berlin Wall?

Although Berlin was in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, the Western Allies occupied part of it. The Soviets resented their presence, wishing to isolate their population from Western ideas. In a single day in 1961, Soviet forces constructed a wall around the whole of Berlin's western zone, keeping the East Germans out of West Berlin.

The wall was made larger and encircled with barbed wire, minefields and armed guards. Next, the Soviets tried to cut off West Berlin's supply routes, hoping the Western Allies would leave. Instead, the Allies supplied the besieged city by air until the Soviet blockade ended.

The Berlin Wall was destroyed in 1989, when the East Germans rejected Communist rule and demolished the wall by hand.